The clothes are familiar. The faces take a second look. In The Descendants, photographer Drew Gardner pairs people with historical portraits, identifying each sitter as a descendant of the person beside them. Costumes and poses are carefully rebuilt for the comparison.
A gray wig, a hand tucked into a coat, even the angle of a chair can pull the pictures together. There are differences, too, and they're often the interesting part. These are staged photographs, not proof of how a face travels through generations. The original gallery below includes 14 comparisons, from Charles Dickens at his desk to a descendant standing among the enormous chains in Brunel's portrait.
Thomas Jefferson and Shannon LaNier
Shannon LaNier sits on the right, opposite a portrait of Thomas Jefferson. He has the white collar and dark coat, but no powdered wig. You can compare the faces without the same hair framing them.
LaNier descends from Jefferson and Sally Hemings, whom Jefferson enslaved. That family history belongs in the picture, too; this isn't simply a resemblance between a president and a distant relative.
Emmeline Pankhurst and Helen Pankhurst
Helen Pankhurst stands on the left, one hand on the table. Her great-grandmother Emmeline is on the right. The book and little framed picture are there in both portraits.
Gardner also repeats the long skirt, dark jacket and pale blouse. Then there's the other hand, held slightly away from the body. You can follow that gesture across the pair without needing to know anything about the clothes.
Charles Dickens and Gerald Charles Dickens
There's plenty to compare before you reach the faces: the desk, the open book, the glassware and the pointer held in one hand. Gerald Charles Dickens appears on the left, recreating Herbert Watkins's 1858 portrait of his great-great-grandfather.
With the papers and furniture taking up so much room, the photograph gives Gardner a whole small scene to rebuild. Gerald holds the book up as if he has just paused in the middle of reading.
Oliver Cromwell and Charles Bush
The clothes do a lot of work in this pair. Charles Bush, on the right, wears a pale, shining cloak and a white collar that echo Oliver Cromwell's painted outfit.
Gardner identifies Bush as a descendant of Cromwell. The painting and photograph still have different textures, especially around the hair and face. Even with the clothes matched, you wouldn't mistake one medium for the other.
Napoleon and Hugo de Salis
Hugo de Salis stands on the left in Gardner's recreation of Jacques-Louis David's 1812 Napoleon portrait. A hand inside the waistcoat is the familiar detail, but the desk and surrounding room matter to the match as well.
Gardner presents de Salis as Napoleon's descendant. The elaborate uniform makes this one of the gallery's fuller transformations; you can follow the pose almost from head to foot.
Frederick Douglass and Kenneth B. Morris Jr.
Kenneth B. Morris Jr., on the right, is Frederick Douglass's great-great-great-grandson. The seated pose, crossed legs and patterned table covering closely follow the historical photograph beside him.
The historical image is credited to photographers Edwin Burke Ives and Reuben L. Andrews; the modern one is Gardner's. Morris rests an arm beside the table, with a gray-streaked hairstyle framing his face. The patterned cloth is visible in both pictures.
Charles II and Lord Charles FitzRoy
A red sash runs across the armor in both portraits. Lord Charles FitzRoy is on the right, with his head turned to echo Charles II's pose in the painting.
Gardner identifies FitzRoy as a descendant of the king. The sash is such a strong shape that your eye may go there before the faces. The highlights on the armor help connect the two pictures as well.
Mona Lisa and Irina Guicciardini Strozzi
Irina Guicciardini Strozzi sits on the left, her hands folded in the familiar Mona Lisa arrangement. Gardner's project identifies her as a descendant of Lisa Gherardini, also known as Lisa del Giocondo, the woman associated with Leonardo's painting.
The hands and chair make the reference easy to spot. The modern photograph also leaves you with a real sitter's expression to compare with that famously hard-to-read painted smile.
The Duke of Wellington and Jeremy Clyde
Jeremy Clyde appears on the right beside Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington. Gardner's project places Clyde, a descendant, in the dark cloak and turned pose of the earlier portrait.
The pale lining gives the cloak a bright edge against the darker clothing. It's a useful detail to follow across the pair: the broad silhouette looks similar even where the folds don't fall in quite the same way.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Elizabeth Jenkins-Sahlin
The close crop puts Elizabeth Jenkins-Sahlin's face beside Elizabeth Cady Stanton's, with the bonnet and curls filling much of the frame. Jenkins-Sahlin appears on the right.
The Stanton family's genealogy identifies her as Stanton's great-great-great-granddaughter. Gardner has matched the bonnet's shape as well as the angle of the head. With so little of the room or clothing visible, this comparison rests mainly on the face, the headwear and the direction of the light.
William Wordsworth and Tom Wontner
Tom Wontner, on the right, takes the pose of William Wordsworth in the 1798 portrait used for Gardner's comparison. The white neckcloth stands out against the dark coat in both images.
Their shoulders sit at a similar angle, while the eyes pull your attention back toward the viewer. The red background helps hold the pair together. Gardner includes Wontner in the project as a descendant of the poet.
Horatio Nelson and William John Raglan Horatio Tribe
William John Raglan Horatio Tribe, a descendant of Horatio Nelson according to Gardner's project, appears on the right. The uniform follows the painted portrait on the left.
Gold braid and medals crowd the fronts of both uniforms. You can spend a while checking those details against each other before looking at the faces. The recreated portrait keeps the same formal, upright arrangement as the painted Nelson beside it.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Isambard Thomas
The chains nearly steal this picture. Isambard Thomas stands on the left, recreating Robert Howlett's 1857 photograph of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in front of huge coils of chain.
Gardner identifies Thomas as Brunel's descendant. Both men have their hands tucked into their pockets and wear tall hats. Those repeated details make the pose easy to follow, while the scale of the metal behind them gives the pair its setting.
Robert Clive and Robert Holden
Robert Holden, on the left, wears a red coat to match the portrait of Robert Clive beside him. Gardner includes Holden as Clive's descendant in the project.
The coat's color catches the eye first; then you notice the turned body and the cloudy background behind each sitter. The painted and photographed backgrounds aren't identical. Seeing them side by side lets you pick out what Gardner repeated and where the recreation differs.
